You can send an email to your local Finanzamt and ask them to send it (by post). Sharing a template that I’ve used in the past.
—
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
ich bin am xx.xx.xxxx nach Deutschland gezogen und habe mich am xx.xx.xxxx beim Bürgeramt angemeldet. Ich habe meine Steuer-ID noch nicht erhalten. Können Sie mir bitte meine Steuer-ID per Post zusenden?
Vorname: xxxxxx
Nachname: xxxxxxxx
Geburtsdatum: xx.xx.xxxx
Geburtsort: xxxxxxxxx
Anschrift: xxxxxx
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
xxxxxxx
—
Dear Sir or Madam,
I moved to Germany on xx.xx.xxxx and registered with the Bürgeramt on xx.xx.xxxx. I have not yet received my tax ID. Can you please send me my tax ID by post?
First name: xxxxxx
Surname: xxxxxxxx
Date of birth: xx.xx.xxxx
Place of birth: xxxxxxxxx
Address: xxxxxx
Yours sincerely
xxxxxxx
BiohazardBinkie on
I waited 3 months before i said fuck it and walked in to get one printed out in person.
rubenknol on
if you need the tax ID before the letter arrives, you can visit the local finanzamt (in some places without appointment, in some it requires an appointment) to get it in person with your passport
TheCoolKuid on
It was a year, and I still haven’t received it. Just go to nearest Finanzamt yourself and ask for it, all procedure will take 5 minutes.
_engineerinthemaking on
Got mine in 3 days, because I went to pick it up by myself. Figured it would be less of a hustle. Maybe try to pay a visit to the office.
UltimateMax5 on
Mine never came after one year being here. And I requested a new one after I moved.
Eisbaerle on
Up to 8 weeks had to get mine again few weeks ago..
zayc_ on
welcome to the german bureaucracy
Ok_Object7636 on
Oh gosh, why do you even ask 😂
Yes, German bureaucracy is slooooow.
Klabusterball on
After my wife applied for her visa, the tax ID letter was in the mail even before she received her visa grant letter 😂
datnt84 on
My kids got their tax ID maybe 2 days after their birth ways before we got the birth certificates.
DarkSignal6744 on
It will take even longer than that…
P_Jamez on
What do you expect!? It was August, people go on holiday! Do government workers not have the right to go on holiday!? Do you know how many vacancies there are!? Do you know how many forms have to be filled in, in triplicate, and each copy must be checked!?
/s
Welcome to Germany! Where the government decided that no more technological innovation was required after 2006
isozar on
Long story short: yes.
wurst_katastrophe on
Did the same for my wife. Took 2 days to arrive. Probably depends on where you live.
Ok-Cauliflower-1632 on
„Long“? Lol. Welcome to Germany.
Cheddar-kun on
Go in person, that’s the only way things get done here.
Material_Ad2047 on
You will only receive it at the very first time you do your registration in Germany. Since your old address clearly already is a German address, you will not receive it a second time, you need to see your local Finanzamt if you don’t have the first letter anymore.
vinnsy9 on
you either go yourself to the nearest Finazamt , they can give it you there , or write them a letter, or send them an email. it happened to my wife during covid , that we didn’t receive it , so she wrote a letter and got a reply back with the tax ID number.
LordBeisser on
Germany is horrible in that regard, to much regulations. I am also waiting for a letter and I even got asked to send them my papers again, you will have to pressure them a bit so they get moving.
I recently moved to croatia for studies and I got my tax ID after 2 hourse of waiting, I mean come on germany.
bgroenks on
I’m surprised by all the comments here saying it takes so long. I got mine in the mail the day after registering…. I always joked that the one time German bureaucracy is fast is when they want your money 😛
Leon_SheolArisen on
It usually takes two weeks for the letter to arrive. Maybe yours got stuck in transit. You can ask your local Finanzamt or Einwohnermeldeamt tho, they should have the ID.
RalfWilliam-rbc-de on
Up to 8 weeks is normal … but it might be already in the system of the local Finanzamt at the place you live … they can give you the number in person … you need the Anmeldebestätigung and you Passport
GentleFoxes on
Oh you sweet summer child.
At 1 month you can be glad if they scanned your letter into their system. Seriously, I once called a court after about a month because I had a question, the answer was “sorry, I don’t have your letter as it’s not digitized yet”.
hibbant on
if you are employed talk to your employer then it will be ready until your first payday.
he should send your contract or just confirm that you are employed , they get it and it will be on your first Lohnzettel
This happened to me two years ago. What I did is I went to the Bürgeramt and told them I haven’t recieved my tax id, then they printed it for me.
at_verfassungsschutz on
maybe wait another year or two, here in germany things take time
Arios84 on
sounds normal to me… you can give them a call and ask how it’s going or if there were any problems to calm your mind.
hok98 on
A month? That’s like two German-days
Typical-Sleep223 on
If you just need the number, you can go directly to the auslanderbehorde where you did your anmeldung and ask them. No need for an appointment. But ya the official letter takes a month or longer
heisenberg_2013 on
For me they didn’t send it. I had to go to the city office and collect it in person for the place I live.
3 to 5 month its normal. I needed the Steuernummer as a Student. A lot of paperwork and stuff later, the Steuerberater got it but i recived the letter after 5 month. At the end of my erasmus+ time at berlin.
summitsuperbsuperior on
Letter was sent to me also a long time later, I didn’t have to worry since I got it two days after Anmeldung by going straight to the office I did it my anmeldung and they printed it for me. In short, no need for letter to arrive, you can go receive in person
Opposite_Teach_5279 on
I did my X in Germany, but I’m still waiting for my response. Is it normal it takes so long?
# YES
donjamos on
For future tax stuff get an Elster account. It’s the official portal for all tax related stuff but usually you have to register beforehand and get password letters and such stuff, so do that before making your taxes.
General rule of thumb: Very fast when collecting money or getting anything out of you, very slow when they need to deliver.
intermediatetransit on
It’s normal for bureaucracy to be error prone and slow. You should get used to pestering people in person and via phone to get what you want. Because you have to do it incessantly.
JT8D-80 on
Welcome to Germany!!
amir13735 on
My friend got her Anmeldung and after 3-4 months Steuer id didn’t arrive.so she spent another month emailing them and they always said wait.after one month another Amt told her in an unrelated matter that she is not registered! Went back to the Bürgerbüro and yeah she was not registered although she had the Anmeldung paper! Got registered there and then again and got her id 3-4 days after!
Moral of the story is Double check the Anmeldung!
TheCreepNextDoor on
After I did my Anmeldung I didn’t know I was receiving a tax ID as well. However, I got a Strafe for riding a bike on a boardwalk outside the allowed hours. 2 days later I got two letters: One with the Strafe and one with the Tax ID 😛
46 Comments
Welcome to Germany buddy
You can send an email to your local Finanzamt and ask them to send it (by post). Sharing a template that I’ve used in the past.
—
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
ich bin am xx.xx.xxxx nach Deutschland gezogen und habe mich am xx.xx.xxxx beim Bürgeramt angemeldet. Ich habe meine Steuer-ID noch nicht erhalten. Können Sie mir bitte meine Steuer-ID per Post zusenden?
Vorname: xxxxxx
Nachname: xxxxxxxx
Geburtsdatum: xx.xx.xxxx
Geburtsort: xxxxxxxxx
Anschrift: xxxxxx
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
xxxxxxx
—
Dear Sir or Madam,
I moved to Germany on xx.xx.xxxx and registered with the Bürgeramt on xx.xx.xxxx. I have not yet received my tax ID. Can you please send me my tax ID by post?
First name: xxxxxx
Surname: xxxxxxxx
Date of birth: xx.xx.xxxx
Place of birth: xxxxxxxxx
Address: xxxxxx
Yours sincerely
xxxxxxx
I waited 3 months before i said fuck it and walked in to get one printed out in person.
if you need the tax ID before the letter arrives, you can visit the local finanzamt (in some places without appointment, in some it requires an appointment) to get it in person with your passport
It was a year, and I still haven’t received it. Just go to nearest Finanzamt yourself and ask for it, all procedure will take 5 minutes.
Got mine in 3 days, because I went to pick it up by myself. Figured it would be less of a hustle. Maybe try to pay a visit to the office.
Mine never came after one year being here. And I requested a new one after I moved.
Up to 8 weeks had to get mine again few weeks ago..
welcome to the german bureaucracy
Oh gosh, why do you even ask 😂
Yes, German bureaucracy is slooooow.
After my wife applied for her visa, the tax ID letter was in the mail even before she received her visa grant letter 😂
My kids got their tax ID maybe 2 days after their birth ways before we got the birth certificates.
It will take even longer than that…
What do you expect!? It was August, people go on holiday! Do government workers not have the right to go on holiday!? Do you know how many vacancies there are!? Do you know how many forms have to be filled in, in triplicate, and each copy must be checked!?
/s
Welcome to Germany! Where the government decided that no more technological innovation was required after 2006
Long story short: yes.
Did the same for my wife. Took 2 days to arrive. Probably depends on where you live.
„Long“? Lol. Welcome to Germany.
Go in person, that’s the only way things get done here.
You will only receive it at the very first time you do your registration in Germany. Since your old address clearly already is a German address, you will not receive it a second time, you need to see your local Finanzamt if you don’t have the first letter anymore.
you either go yourself to the nearest Finazamt , they can give it you there , or write them a letter, or send them an email. it happened to my wife during covid , that we didn’t receive it , so she wrote a letter and got a reply back with the tax ID number.
Germany is horrible in that regard, to much regulations. I am also waiting for a letter and I even got asked to send them my papers again, you will have to pressure them a bit so they get moving.
I recently moved to croatia for studies and I got my tax ID after 2 hourse of waiting, I mean come on germany.
I’m surprised by all the comments here saying it takes so long. I got mine in the mail the day after registering…. I always joked that the one time German bureaucracy is fast is when they want your money 😛
It usually takes two weeks for the letter to arrive. Maybe yours got stuck in transit. You can ask your local Finanzamt or Einwohnermeldeamt tho, they should have the ID.
Up to 8 weeks is normal … but it might be already in the system of the local Finanzamt at the place you live … they can give you the number in person … you need the Anmeldebestätigung and you Passport
Oh you sweet summer child.
At 1 month you can be glad if they scanned your letter into their system. Seriously, I once called a court after about a month because I had a question, the answer was “sorry, I don’t have your letter as it’s not digitized yet”.
if you are employed talk to your employer then it will be ready until your first payday.
he should send your contract or just confirm that you are employed , they get it and it will be on your first Lohnzettel
I didn’t receive it after Anmeldung too. So I requested it [here](https://www.bzst.de/SiteGlobals/Kontaktformulare/DE/Steuerliche_IDNr/Mitteilung_IdNr/mitteilung_IdNr_node.html). Then it arrived in a week
Yea welcome to Germany, it can take up to 3 months. If you didn’t receive any letter until then from Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, you can apply for it directly: https://www.bzst.de/DE/Privatpersonen/SteuerlicheIdentifikationsnummer/steuerlicheidentifikationsnummer_node.html
This happened to me two years ago. What I did is I went to the Bürgeramt and told them I haven’t recieved my tax id, then they printed it for me.
maybe wait another year or two, here in germany things take time
sounds normal to me… you can give them a call and ask how it’s going or if there were any problems to calm your mind.
A month? That’s like two German-days
If you just need the number, you can go directly to the auslanderbehorde where you did your anmeldung and ask them. No need for an appointment. But ya the official letter takes a month or longer
For me they didn’t send it. I had to go to the city office and collect it in person for the place I live.
For me the letter wasn’t sent automatically for some reason, I had to request it [here](https://www.bzst.de/SiteGlobals/Kontaktformulare/DE/Steuerliche_IDNr/Mitteilung_IdNr/mitteilung_IdNr_node.html), but it came relatively quickly once I did.
3 to 5 month its normal. I needed the Steuernummer as a Student. A lot of paperwork and stuff later, the Steuerberater got it but i recived the letter after 5 month. At the end of my erasmus+ time at berlin.
Letter was sent to me also a long time later, I didn’t have to worry since I got it two days after Anmeldung by going straight to the office I did it my anmeldung and they printed it for me. In short, no need for letter to arrive, you can go receive in person
I did my X in Germany, but I’m still waiting for my response. Is it normal it takes so long?
# YES
For future tax stuff get an Elster account. It’s the official portal for all tax related stuff but usually you have to register beforehand and get password letters and such stuff, so do that before making your taxes.
English version is here https://www.elster.de/eportal/start?locale=en_US
Ask the finanzamt
Try getting a Termin at the Rathaus
General rule of thumb: Very fast when collecting money or getting anything out of you, very slow when they need to deliver.
It’s normal for bureaucracy to be error prone and slow. You should get used to pestering people in person and via phone to get what you want. Because you have to do it incessantly.
Welcome to Germany!!
My friend got her Anmeldung and after 3-4 months Steuer id didn’t arrive.so she spent another month emailing them and they always said wait.after one month another Amt told her in an unrelated matter that she is not registered! Went back to the Bürgerbüro and yeah she was not registered although she had the Anmeldung paper! Got registered there and then again and got her id 3-4 days after!
Moral of the story is Double check the Anmeldung!
After I did my Anmeldung I didn’t know I was receiving a tax ID as well. However, I got a Strafe for riding a bike on a boardwalk outside the allowed hours. 2 days later I got two letters: One with the Strafe and one with the Tax ID 😛